Aspargus planted in clumps

Aspargus planted in clumps (instead of rows).........anyone tried it?

Thanks in advance

The roots of mature asparagus take up a good bit of space. Clumping them closely would risk making them root bound, reducing production. They don't have to be planted in rows, but it makes harvesting easier

Frank

(edited for typo)

This message was edited Apr 9, 2008 2:24 PM

to get a good crop from the Asparagus crowns, they need to be spaced about 10 or 12 inches apart, otherwise the plants wont be able to mature and spread their roots as Asparagus plants are normally left in the same spot for years, they need protection from strong winds and the roots well spread out into the planting hole and need plenty manure to enrich the soil, they are greedy feeders, the manure keeps air around the roots/soil and helps the roots warm up quicker in springtime, so your Asparagus that is in clumps will probably end up rotting at the roots if not thinned out. Hope this helps you out a bit, good luck. WeeNel.

this is my first year with Asparagus and have some questions also..

Are we supposed to cut the tips and not let them bloom? Or do we let them bloom, mine look like ferns right now, but I noticed some have buds. I also may need to move them next year, I don't know why I planted them in a raised bed.. I also planted some mini potatoes near them, so now I have to dig them out I think.

Thank you for any help,

Hug, I hope you don't mind me posting here on your thread, I just thought we could keep the information together..

Gourd - let the asparagus go to fern. This is how it develops strong roots for subsequent years.

I'm not sure why you think it's wrong to have them in a raised bed.

Thank LTilton,

Well, I was thinking the roots shouldn't be disturbed, and I went and planted some potatoes by them, so If I dig up the potatoes, there go my asparagus.. Now, I realize I shouldn't plant root veggies with other things.. I'm going to get this right some how.

What about the blooms, do we let it go to seed? And, can we plant the seeds?

We all make some mistakes with our plants/veg when we are starting off, but that's how we learn, for the first 5 years of working my own first garden, I bought small plants for flowers knowing in about 3 years they would be large and fill my borders, well the result was, I had to dig them up and separate them as they grew so fast a large, I eventually realised labels tell us the planting distance so we need to read them DUH,
the asparagus/potato problem: unless your potato's are growing in the middle of your asparagus, then you should not do too much damage, so when you harvest your potato's, just be careful where you stand and place your fork, IF the asparagus is still new plants, then the roots wont be that huge, they dont like being disturbed, but I am sure that means digging up and replanting, however, if you still need to replant them, then either wait till the weather ain't too hot like summer, OR do it in autumn, if you find seed heads on the asparagus, nip them off but dont cut the stems, the ferns are OK to leave alone as this is natural, like leaves on flowers, I cant see why you need to remove them from the raised beds unless you need these beds for something else, otherwise they will be fine, you can also grow shallow rooted things in the same bed, things like radishes etc that have a very short season and will be ready to pick before the asparagus is through the soil far enough. dont let the plants develop seeds as this weakens the plants, it takes energy to produce seeds and you want the plants to use all the energy developing roots instead, the asparagus tips that we eat, is actually the flower heads before they developed the flowers/seeds, so dont let the seeds develope. Hope this helps you out a bit, good luck. WeeNel.